Metocean instrumentation and deployment
We supply, install and maintain buoys, current meters and weather sensors, and deploy them at your site.
Good metocean data starts in the water. Geomarins supplies, installs and maintains the instruments that measure waves, currents, water levels and weather at your site, and deploys them so they stay in place and keep reporting through the conditions they are there to measure.
Instruments we work with
- Directional wave buoys measuring wave height, period and direction
- Current meters and acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) measuring current speed and direction through the water column
- Tide gauges and pressure sensors recording water level
- Automatic weather stations measuring wind, gusts, pressure, temperature, humidity and rainfall
- Water quality and temperature sensors where a project needs them
How a deployment is planned
Every deployment begins with the question the data must answer. A design basis study needs a long, unbroken record; a construction project may need live readings for a few months; an operations team may need a forecast check at one location. From that we choose the instruments, the sampling rate, the telemetry link and the location.
We then plan the mooring: water depth, seabed type, expected currents and wave conditions, shipping traffic and fishing activity all shape the design. A mooring that is right for a calm lagoon will not survive a monsoon swell offshore, and a buoy in a busy channel needs lights and marking to the local maritime authority's requirements.
Installation and commissioning
Instruments are tested and configured on shore before they go out. At sea, our team deploys the mooring, checks that the instrument is reporting correctly and records the exact position, depth and set-up. That record stays with the data so anyone using it later knows how it was measured.
Keeping instruments working
Marine instruments need care. Batteries run down, sensors foul with marine growth and moorings wear. We plan service visits, watch the incoming data for early signs of trouble and respond when a station stops reporting. Where a buoy drifts off station, its GPS position lets us find and recover it.
Data from day one
Every instrument we deploy can report straight into the Geomarins online dashboard, so you see the readings from the first day. The same records feed our data management and analysis services.
What you get
- Instrument and mooring design for your site
- Supply of buoys, current meters, tide gauges and weather stations
- Pre-deployment testing and configuration
- Offshore or nearshore installation and commissioning
- Deployment records: position, depth, set-up
- Planned servicing, recovery and redeployment
Frequently asked questions
How long can a buoy stay deployed?
It depends on the instrument, power supply and conditions. Many deployments run for months between service visits, and long-term monitoring programmes run for years with planned servicing.
Can you deploy close to shore and in lagoons?
Yes. We plan nearshore, estuary and lagoon deployments as well as offshore ones, choosing instruments and moorings for the depth and conditions.
Do we see the data live?
Where the instrument has a telemetry link, readings appear on your Geomarins dashboard as they arrive. Instruments without telemetry are downloaded at each service visit.